Few
statistics influence the outcome of the game as do rebounding stats. Few
statistics are indicators of as many things as are rebounding stats. Few
actions affect more parts of the game as rebounding.

Rebounding
can be an indicator of how hard you are playing, team focus, how well you are
shooting, etc. The other benefits are rewards for playing good defense by
getting the ball off the defensive glass and lay-ups for grabbing offensive
rebounds. Both situation feed your confidence and allow you to play better.

Just
how important is rebounding to your team's success? It's critical and here's
why:

For
starters, very few teams make 50% of their first shot attempts. If you were to
actually study that, you will see that, at the very highest level (NBA) teams
are in the 43% range. As you move down, through college and then to high school
you will notice that the percentages go down to the mid 30's. Keep in mind that
we are talking about 1st shots. Teams that consistently shoot near the 50%
range are usually good in 2 areas, making lay-ups and getting offensive
rebounds that turn into made lay-ups.

Another
thing to consider is that every rebound is a possession. If you get a defensive
rebound, that gives you a possession and a chance to score on the other end. If
you shoot, miss and get the offensive rebound, you have is an additional
possession in which you have a chance to score. Most importantly, it is an
additional possession that you have gained without the other team having a
chance to score.

Number
of possessions is a very important reference point. The more possessions you
have the less efficient you have to be on offense, the lower shooting
percentage you have to have to attain the same number of points. It is more
probable you will get 40 points by
shooting 20 for 50 (40%) than the same number of points by shooting 20 for 40
(50%). If you shoot 20 for 60 (33%) you will still have 40 points. Shooting 20
for 30 (66%) still gives you 40 points but doesn't happen very often.

Am
I saying that it is better to shoot lower percentages? Certainly not. I am
saying that it happens more often and it is more practical to practice and plan
for missed shots because they usually happen more often than made shots. It is
what happens to those missed shots that give you additional possessions,
possessions that give you an opportunity to score while robbing your opponent
of the same opportunity.

That
is what decides games.

How Do We Become Good Rebounders?

I
think there are 3 things that lead to good rebounding:

Knowledge

Skill

Determination

Notice that nowhere in those 3 aspects is the size or strength. I am not saying that
doesn't help but think about this, Paul Silas, at 6'6' didn't become one of the
greatest offensive rebounders of all time because of his size. There were
plenty of 6'6' players around but they could not do what Silas did. Bill Russell
didn't become one of the greatest rebounders of all time because he was 6'9".
There were plenty of bigger and stronger players around but they couldn't do
what Russell could. Another, more current example would be Udonis Haslem of the
Miami Heat. At 6'8", Haslem is drastically undersized to play power forward in
the NBA. Yet, for the past 3 years he has been a leader in rebounds per minutes
played.

How
do they accomplish what they do?

Knowledge

Good rebounders understand the game and personnel. They study who shoots, when and
from where. I know that that might be difficult when playing an opponent you
have not seen before, but tendencies become apparent as the game unfolds. Be
that as it may, there is no reason you can't study your own teammates. If you
know Joey likes to shoot the ball from the right corner, instead of working on
something that is going to be non-productive, get yourself in a position to
rebound when Joey gets the ball in the right corner. That is preparation that
will allow you to overcome most players you have to rebound against.

The next thing good rebounders understand is where the
ball will go. Shots taken from the wing down to the baseline rebound back at
the same angle or over at an opposite angle 80% of the time. Only 20% of
shots rebound to the front of the rim.

Shots taken above the foul line extended to the top of the
key rebound 60% to the sides and 40% to the front of the rim. Good rebounders
are proactive. Study where the shots come from and react accordingly before
the ball misses. You might miss a few but you will get a lot.

Good rebounders also understand that a long shot often produces a long rebound. Not always, but you have to play percentages.
How long will the rebound be? Well that would be purely a guess. However, while
we understand that being close to the rim is good for rebounding, you can be
too close. Assume that EVERY shot will be a long rebound and position yourself
as such. A good guide for position is the NBA charge/block arc in the lane.
That is about the area you want to get to on a missed shot.

Skill

The
skills of rebounding are simple: prepare your hands, block out, catch the ball.
As simple as it sounds, these are skills that have to be practiced.

Drill To Get Your Hands Up

McHale Taps

On the right side of the backboard, jump and
dribble the ball off the backboard with your right hand. Time your jump so you
dribble the ball while you are in the air. Pick a spot on the backboard to
dribble at so you are not just batting the ball up. Do not bounce between
dribbles, each jump is a dribble. With each dribble with your right hand, touch
the rim with your left hand. If you can't get the rim, try to get the net.

Switch sides and hands

Work up to 50 taps or 2 minutes.

Drill to Get Your Hands Ready

Bangs

Start on the right side. Grab the ball with 2
hands, jump and bang the ball on the backboard, as hard as you can, 3 times.
On the 4th jump, put the ball in the basket. If you can't get the backboard,
use the wall.

Determination

While the shortest distance between 2 points might be a straight line, the same
cannot be said of a rebound. While you can play the odds (see knowledge),
trying to predict where a rebound will carom is like predicting how a football
will roll after landing on its point. Balls hit hands, hits the rim multiple
times, players are pushed out of position -- there are 2nd and 3rd chances when
you did not think you had one chance. You have to condition yourself that you
can get every rebound and go after it again and again until you grab it.

Boxing Out

Boxing on a rebound is very important. However, it is not as important as getting the
ball. Boxing is a momentary action intended to impede the path of an opponent
and delay his ability to go after the ball. I have seen many games lost due to
a great box out but nobody went after the ball.

In addition, boxing out is a confusing term. Previously we discussed rebounding
position (around the NBA block/charge line). What would you do if your opponent
is inside of you in that rebounding position? You can't box him out because he
is inside of you. I would box him in, turn and push him toward the basket. What
if you are under the basket with your defender on your back? Would you box him
out into good rebounding position? I would turn and box him in, under the basket.

When boxing out, find your man as soon as a shot goes up. Pivot in the most
comfortable and efficient way you can, into an athletic position that looks
like you are sitting on a chair. Immediately your arms go up, your elbows go
out and your hands get ready to grab the ball. We discussed above the reasons
for getting your arms up and hands ready (see skills). The purpose for getting
your elbows out is NOT to hit anyone, but it does make you wider and more
difficult to go around. In this position, bump your man with your butt and then
go after the ball.

Boxing out (or in) is not only a defensive maneuver but can be an offensive maneuver
as well. Use it any time you are in position to do so. Be aggressive and take
control of the situation. Don't wait for your man to make a move, go and get
him before he has a chance to move.

Remember, to be a good rebounder or a good rebounding team doesn't necessarily mean you
get every rebound, just be sure your opponent doesn't get it.

The Truth About
Rebounding

Technique will certainly help any rebounder, however rebounding is one area in basketball
where you can excel with out technique. True greatness in rebounding, either as
an individual or as a team lies in the emphasis and the value you place on it.

Jim Calhoun, the great coach at the University of Connecticut, says you should be
able to walk into a practice and within 15 minutes you should be able to figure
out what is important to the coach and the team. If you look at his teams,
going all the way back to his days at Boston State and Northeastern, you will
see that his teams are always one of the leaders in the nation in rebounding.
Rebounding is a prominent feature in his offensive and defensive schemes. When
you walk into his practice, it is evident immediately how important rebounding
is to him and his team. In addition, one of the "Laws of Learning" is "primacy"
(what is learned first is learned best). In Coach Calhoun's practices, the
first drills they do every day are rebounding drills.

In boxing out can you explanin or tell me a site I can go to. Where I can see how the boxing is done. Below is the statement you made which what I'm referring to:

"cant box him out because he is inside of you. I would box him in, turn and push him toward the basket. What if you are under the basket with your defender on your back? Would you box him out into good rebounding position? I would turn and box him in, under the basket".

Unfortunately, we don't have anything available to view this technique. We also don't know of any websites to go to in order to view this. We hope to have some pictures or videos available in the future. Thanks for the input.

Try to visualize this: The man who you are going to try to box out is between you and the basket in the middle of the lane. You are faced with 2 choices:

1 - try to get around him and box him AWAY from the basket. This would involve you, somehow, getting between him and the basket, getting into boxout position and then boxing him out towrd the foul line.

2- Turn to boxout position immediately, such that your position would actually have you FACING the foul line. You then box him TOWARD the basket so the rebound would the bounce over him and he cannot grab the ball.

In the situation above, I would choose option number 2. Remember, it is not important that you get the rebound, it is important that he doesn't get it.

If you need help with boxout position, that would be a different issue.

i just want to ask that is that have any skill that no need boxup then can take the rebound???because i'm center, but i'm lazy to boxup.... pls give me some suggestion...and also tell me some technique that can improve my jumping.. cos i think i can jump higher than now, but i dunno how to improve...

I am coaching 4 and 5 years old at the YMCA not playing to win just teaching fundamentals. I don't know very much about basketball and have not coached before what should I be teaching 4 and 5 year olds. Dribble and Shoot???? What is most important for them to start out learning?? What are some Drills good for their age?

If it were up to me, I wouldn't even introduce basketball to children until they are at least 8 or 9 years old. It's hard for them to do much. It's also more beneficial to their athletic development to practice other sports such as soccer, martial arts, gymnastics, and swimming in their preteen years.

Hi I am one of the tallest kids on my team at 5'10 but I get very few rebounds. Perhaps some of this comes from my lack of leaping ability, since I can barely touch the net. Anyway, I've tried boxing out and it doesn't seem to work - the ball usually bounces over my head. I've considered picking a spot 5 feet from the basket to camp out and hope the ball bounces my way, because I have very little shot at getting the rebound otherwise. No one ever passes me the ball in the game (slight exaggeration) so I have to get much of my touches from rebounding. I need serious help!

jeff maybe your under the basket. you cant get rebounds from exactly under the basket. im 15 and 5'7 and i sadly have the responsibility of playing center so i had to learn ow to get all the boards too.

HelpfulBut some people should read this before they decide to coach, I'm a highschool player and I went from 30pts a game off layups in jr high too 10 off Kenneth faried style points, id never be scoring without rebounding

My name is Anderson Simon,am Tanzanian people and am playing Basketball in Power Forward Position.My Height is 7 feet and 8 inch,so i need to study in Michigani Basketball College,so i need support.THANKS!

Question- My daughter plays Jr. high basketball, When going for the rebound, should all players be going for the ball and blocking the other team or should at least one player hang back just a little so when their team does get the ball they have someone to throw to and they can run it down for the lay up?

Definitely ask your coach this question. Every coach has a different philosophy. Most coaches want to secure the rebound first and everyone blocks out. But not all coaches want this. Check with the coach.